Q&A - P3 Science

[24hr-mum]

the sch sci teacher just ask me go n google abt why grain is living. sigh. u see lah!

[teh_oh]

24hr-mum:

the sch sci teacher just ask me go n google abt why grain is living. sigh. u see lah!

24hr-mum,
My child said that his science teacher also asked the class to go and google for some of the questions that were asked in class that were not in the textbook. Seems like the norm nowadays.

[super-duper-quadruple]

plum-cake:

super-duper-quadruple:

Anyone has idea about the movement of cockroach, hopping , flying or both?


Thanks!

I've posted the reply on your thread.
Group X

Thanks

[teh_oh]

atutor2001:

24hr-mum:

why is grain a living thing?

Hi 24hr-mum

Actually I dare not re-visit this issue because it was extensively discussed 2 years ago. Anyway since nobody is coming forward, let me try to summaries what have been discussed.

Firstly we need to define the \"Characteristics of living thing\" :

1. Can move (no need to move freely from place to place)
2. Can reproduction
3. Can die
4. Can growth
5. Respond to stimulus
6. Carryout gaseous exchange
7. Made of cells
8. Need energy
9. Produces waste

Unfortunately, there is no guidelines on how many criteria must be met before an object is considered as a living thing although in Pr sch I think criteria 2,3 & 4 are considered essential.

A grain meets most of the criteria (except 1, 5) which in my opinion is a living thing.

In the past discussion, we were questioning whether is a cut leaf a living thing..... conclusion I don't know.

Cheers

Hi,
May I ask, if 'rubber' is consider as a 'non-living thing' that is once alive? If yes, then 'sap' of a tree is consider alive on its own? Is an orange consider as a living thing?

[atutor2001]

teh_oh:

Hi,
May I ask, if 'rubber' is consider as a 'non-living thing' that is once alive? If yes, then 'sap' of a tree is consider alive on its own? Is an orange consider as a living thing?

Hi teh oh

Firstly, I would consider 'rubber' as a 'non-living thing' that was from things that are once alive and not \"rubber was once alive\"

Imo, 'sap' should be classified as not alive even when it is in a live tree because 'sap' is only part of the cells (if I am not wrong). I asked myself is blood alive and my answer is no. So I apply the same logic. Another example is, \"Is silk once alive?\" My answer is no but silk is from things that were once alive.

Honestly I really don't know the answer as the definition of alive is not specific. However, I think the real problem is that over the years, some questions have been wrongly phrased, omitting the words \"from things\" and the questions being shortened to \"rubber is once alive\". It should be \"rubber is from things that are once alive.\"

Just my opinion.

Regards

[teh_oh]

hi atutor2001,

thanks for clarifying.
is an orange alive? since ‘sap’ is not alive, i would conclude that oranges are not alive but from things that are alive. correct? thanks again.

[atutor2001]

teh_oh:

hi atutor2001,

thanks for clarifying.
is an orange alive? since 'sap' is not alive, i would conclude that oranges are not alive but from things that are alive. correct? thanks again.

Hi teh_oh, sorry that I have no conclusive definition of alive. If a teacher asks me whether is an orange alive, I would be very :x because there are seeds in the orange which is alive but the other parts of the orange are not alive. So probably I would say that an orange is alive since there are seeds inside :lol:

PS
Sorry teh-oh, my above answer is wrong. You are correct that oranges are not alive but from things that are once alive.

I keep forgetting that in science, the fruit and the seeds are considered as separate entities. That is, orange would refer to only the skin and flesh, excluding the seeds, which is why the children are taught that the \"fruit protects the seeds\".

[24hr-mum]

i heard that moe has taken out the topic of "made from things alive or once alive" from the syllabus due to the confusion. but i guess the topic of whether something is "living" or "non-living" remains?

[teh_oh]

Hi parents,


Q1: It is about putting a steam bun in a dark place. Q is what organism is found on the bun after a few days.
Child's Ans: Bread mould.
Ans key: Mould.

Is 'bread mould' acceptable, or should I ask my child to stick to 'mould'?

Q2:
http://postimage.org/image/1tlyazjtw/
Child's Answer for (a) is \"flight feathers\".
Should I ask my child to stick to 'feathers' only?

For (b) while child wrote 'To help it to fly', he asked if 'To keep the bird warm' can be consider one of the answers. Can?
Answer key is \"It can fly\".


Q3:
http://postimage.org/image/oez0la5g/
Child's answer: To find out which material is waterproof.
Answer key is: To find out which material absorb the most water.
Is child's answer acceptable?


Many thanks!

[atutor2001]

Hi teh_oh


Very interesting questions. Below are just my personal views :

(a) I would play safe and use \"mould\" because Pr syllabus did not cover the different types of mould. Furthermore, we cannot conclude from the question that the type of mould is \"bread\" mould even though it is growing on a bun/bread.

(b) I would use \"feather\" because the pr syllabus did not cover the different types of feather and the arrow did not point at the flight feathers.

(c) I would use \"To fly\" because the arrow points at the wing.

(d) I would use \"To find the amount of water absorbs/retains by each material.\" as it is safest to specify an aim that covers the broadest area that the experimental results can conclude. That is, with this aim, we can also conclude for which material is waterproof and which material absorbs the most water and I cannot be deemed to be wrong.


Cheers